Picnic with your wine!

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Posts Tagged ‘Pinot Grigio’

We’re going up the Sacramento River to the town of Brentwood. It’s early morning and we’re driving against the commute. We’re driving in my convertible with the top down and wearing broad brimmed hats. We’ve left early since the weather report says the temperature will be over 100 degrees and the sun is very bright.

In the trunk we have a cooler with a bottle of Cavit Pinot Grigio 2009 just waiting for lunch!

Brentwood is famous for the u-pick fruit orchards which my wife LOVES! In addition, another couple I’ve known for years bought a house up there and we’re going up to visit them after we pick some fruit. The drive is very scenic and we’re enjoying the day.

We stop and pick some peaches, apricots and nectarines. The apricots are PERFECT. The ones on the south side of the trees (the sunny side) have got a little pink blush and are ripe to perfection! YUM! We eat too many as we pick. They must be handled carefully since they are SO ripe!

The nectarines are next. The trees don’t have as much fruit but they are sweet and can be split open and eaten like a little in halves . . . like a donut (only healthier).

Peaches are last . . . finding them is HARD! They’ve been picked over but the ones remaining are super ripe . . . eat now and they’re great.

We arrive at my buddies’ and they’re out on the boat dock fixing the railing. The day is hot and we pitch in and get that part done. My wife goes to the kitchen, cuts up some fruit and brings some glasses and a cork screw.

Cavit Pinot Grigio – on a hot day this refreshes and cools us.

We fire up the grill and cook some meat and corn. They have a salad all ready. We relax away the afternoon.

We are doing GREAT!

Note: Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same wine (Italian and French). Mildly tart – think grapefruit that will relax and stimulate conversation.

How do we pick our wine?

We limit our reviews to 2 categories:
- Wine under $5/bottle
- Unusual liquor
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We select our wine from large retailers of wine:
- Trader Joe's
- BevMo
- Safeway
- CVS and Rite Aid
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We select 2nd and 3rd tier national brands. We skip big varietals major brands since they have already are well covered. We do make an exception for small runs from a larger winery (such as Sutter Home White Zinfandel)

We try to make sure they are in regular production and not 'excess' from a major vintner which can be a very limited run.
This means we tend towards varieties that are different.

The other item we cover are distilled liquor not covered on other sites. Recently we covered Chinese overproof (100+) white lightning, a raw distilled spirit of questionable provenance. This is not covered. Earlier we covered Newfie Screech, a Canadian distilled spirit made by putting distilled fermented beet juice into abandoned Port and Sherry kegs and leaving on the beach of Newfoundland for several months.

Picking a wine – anywhere, anytime!

Need a bottle for something? Many times I don't speak the language & can't read the label!

Most markets and stores have 300 wines. The clerks' can use a box cutter and a bar code reader.

QUESTION: How can get a decent wine?

ANSWER: - Look for 3 things:

1.) Price! This is IMPORTANT! Scan the selves, look for the cheapest wine and add a couple of bucks. If you want higher end double the number!

2.) Next - heavy or light? - Heavy alcohol is 12%+ and light is 11% or less. If it's cold or a young crowd go heavy, if it's warm or older crowd go light. We're now down to say 20 bottles (some will fall in the middle).

3.) "It Factor" - Look at the BACK of bottle. Is there an essay on the wine, picture of wine maker?) GREAT! The people making are proud of their product! Usually any of these is good.

Eyeball them and pick the one that strikes your fancy!!

========>>> SHORTCUT! Look at people's shopping carts, if you see several people with the same wine - that's likely a good wine!